Freshmen fuel

Some of the Patriots’ youngest swimmers had successful careers in the youth and feeder programs.

That success has carried over nicely, as the freshmen are making an immediate impact on the team.

The Jay County High School swim teams’ freshmen put in solid work on Thursday as the girls team stomped the Anderson Indians 203-60, while the boys fell 150-118.

“It’s a great thing to see as a coach, having a strong class of freshmen coming in,” said JCHS coach Matt Slavik. “I think it compliments our upperclassmen tremendously to have those four or five kids come in and contribute, win events and accentuate our relays. So, it’s a huge blessing that we have right now with this freshmen class.”

Of the 24 events, JCHS freshmen won seven and finished as the runner-up twice. Three of the first-year varsity swimmers, Brooklynn Byrum, Cooper Glentzer and Carson Westgerdes, claimed the top spot twice.

Despite swimming in the sprint freestyle events, Byrum had no trouble hitting the wall first. In the 50-yard freestyle, Byrum’s time of 28.40 seconds was 2.32 seconds faster than teammate Avery Wentz in second. She also won the 100 freestyle with a time of 1 minute, 1.35 seconds, edging out fellow freshman Kaitlyn Fisher — who had her own first-place finish in the 200 freestyle (2:22.42) — by 3.94 seconds.

“It’s been exciting and I think we’re all just enjoying doing our best and able to compete at the level we are right now with the people that are older than us,” Byrum said about the early success of the new class. “I was just thinking along the lines of competing with my teammates, trying to make sure that I either stuck with them or stayed ahead of them. (I know) that I’ve done it before in practice, so I can do it here in a competitive setting.”

    Jay County freshman Kaitlyn Fisher swims the fourth leg of the 400-yard freestyle relay during the Patriots’ meet against Anderson on Thursday. Fisher won the 200 freestyle and took second in the 100 freestyle to help the Patriots beat the Indians 203-60. (The Commercial Review/Andrew Balko)

To go along with Byrum and Kaityln Fisher’s finishes, freshman Alyvia Muhlenkamp took second in the 100 breaststroke (1:30.15) for the Patriot girls (2-0).

Glentzer found similar success to Byrum, dominating the 100 freestyle (53.11) and 500 freestyle —which Glentzer set a new career best time in at 5:24.45 — for the Patriot boys (0-2).

Westgerdes raced to first place in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:06.45, but he had to work for the 200 freestyle victory.

Westgerdes started off the race behind Anderson’s Kaleb Dean. After the first 50 yards, the Patriot freshman started to inch closer to Dean, but didn’t start gaining an advantage until the 125-yard mark. As they approached the final turn, Westgerdes managed to start pulling away by half his body to secure the win.

“I was behind for most of my 200 and I came back and felt really good about that,” Westgerdes said. “Usually in practice we work a lot on last-half stuff. So, I knew if I was able to stay close to him, I’d be able to get him in the end.”

Overall, the girls team dominated Anderson, winning all 12 events. The Patriots claimed the top three spots in six events, as well as filling out the highest spots they could in four more events. JCHS didn’t sweep the 100 backstroke or the 200 freestyle relay, but still claimed the first, second and fourth spots in the former and the first, second and fifth places in the latter.

Aubrey Millspaugh and Lauren Fisher joined Byrum as double-event winners. Millspaugh claimed the 100 breaststroke (1:28.39) and 500 freestyle (6:16.91), while Lauren Fisher won the 200 individual medley (2:45.39) and 100 butterfly (1:15.23).

Other victories came from Maddy Snow in the 1-meter diving (190.75 points) and Wentz in the 100 backstroke (1:14.42).

“The girls came through and they’re swimming beyond where they were last year at this time, which is encouraging,” Slavik said. “They’re coming in and putting in the quality time during practice and we’re seeing it (pay off) earlier than we have in the past.”

The boys managed to claim three more victories to supplement the freshmen performances. Bryden Carter started the night with 130.75 points in the diving for the win, followed by the 200 individual medley relay’s top finish. Matthew Fisher had the other individual victory with a time of 1:10.27 in the 100 backstroke.

The Patriots took second place in every event they didn’t win, and third in three of the five races, but a lack of depth held them back from claiming the meet.

“We just don’t have the numbers to be able to fulfill enough depth in our relays and fill the individual events,” said Slavik. “We won seven of the 12 events. We’re a lot closer to Anderson than we ever have been. At the top end we out swum them. Unfortunately, we are just a bit short on numbers.”